In these cases, a blood test or ultrasound performed at your doctor’s office is the best way to confirm if you are, in fact, pregnant. Hormones rise continually throughout pregnancy if you have irregular periods or lost track of when you were last supposed to get one, you could be far enough along in your pregnancy that an OTC test won’t read your higher levels of hCG. When hCG levels are so high that the test misses them completely, it’s called the “ hook effect,” and it can happen when you’re further along in your pregnancy than just a few weeks. Most OTC pregnancy tests are designed to recognize hCG levels within a certain range, so if your hCG levels are lower or higher than what the test is able to detect, you’ll get a negative result. There are varying reasons for this, including certain conditions that cause fluctuating hormone levels that may give you period-like bleeding - thus preventing you from taking a test until a later stage of pregnancy. It’s super rare, and often the stuff sensational news stories are made of, but it’s possible to have a cryptic pregnancy that conventional pregnancy tests never detect. These types of pregnancies are rare but can turn serious if left untreated, so if you also have severe pain or vaginal bleeding, seek medical care ASAP.
Because your placenta won’t grow like it should, your hCG levels won’t always rise to detectable amounts (although in many cases they will, and you’ll get a positive test) - but you may have pregnancy symptoms.
When a fertilized egg implants somewhere outside the uterus, it’s called an ectopic pregnancy and, sadly, it’s not viable. You’re pregnant, but you have a rare situation on your handsīecause we like to keep you in-the-know, there are some less-common scenarios that can lead to a false negative on a pregnancy test: